TROY,
Ala. (1/24/13) – Troy’s Emil Jones made a three-pointer with 2.2 seconds to go
in regulation to force overtime and the Trojans would go to hand the Arkansas
State University men’s basketball team a 74-67 loss this Thursday (Jan. 24) in
Sun Belt Conference (SBC) action at TU’s Trojan Arena in Troy, Ala.

Arkansas
State held a 61-58 lead with 9.6 seconds left in regulation as junior guard Ed Townsel made a pair of free
throws.The Red Wolves then fouled to
prevent Troy from attempting a potential three to tie the game, but ASU was
unable to secure the rebound on a missed free throw.The Trojans would make A-State pay for the
missed opportunity and pay dearly as Emil Jones hit a three-pointer from the
right wing with 2.2 ticks left on the clock.A desperation shot by sophomore guard Rakeem Dickerson was just off the mark as regulation time expired.The Red Wolves certainly didn’t help their
cause by going without a field goal in the regulation’s final six minutes.ASU went from hot to cold in the first and
second halves as the Red Wolves turned in a 25.9% (7-27) shooting proficiency
in the second half after knocking down 12-of-19 (63.2%) in the opening stanza.

A-State
started off the extra session facing a deficit as Troy tallied five straight to
go up 66-61 at the 2:28 mark. The Red
Wolves managed to cut the Trojans’ lead down to three points on as many
occasions, but could get no closer.
Senior guard Marcus Hooten’s
free throws with 23 seconds remaining made it a three-point game (70-67) for
the last time as Troy scored the next four to put the game away.

“This
was a terrible loss for us as we had the game won four different times but just
gave it away,” said ASU head coach John
Brady.“Our effort was fine but the
execution was very poor.If you don’t
make the plays at the end, you can see what the result is.It’s a tough lesson to learn.”

The
Red Wolves wasted a double-figure scoring performance from four players.Freshman guard Cameron Golden recorded a game-high 18 points, hitting six-of-nine
triples, while senior forward Brandon
Peterson had his seventh double-double of this season with 15 points to
along with a game-best 12 rebounds.Ed Townseladded 14 and freshman guard-forward Raeford Worsham produced 12 points off
the bench.

For
the game, ASU shot 36.5% (19-52) overall from the floor and made 20-of-24
(83.3%) free throws in the contest. The
Trojans, meanwhile, managed to shoot 48.2% (27-56) overall and connected on
13-of-18 (72.2%) on their free throws.

The
Red Wolves hit nine-of-22 (40.9%) three-pointers and were outrebounded 37-34 by
the Trojans, who made 35% (7-20) from behind the three-point line.

The
opening half was relatively close throughout as the Red Wolves’ overcame an
early deficit to lead most of the way.The largest lead for A-State would be at seven points on five occasions.Troy came back from being down by seven at
the midway point to tie it at 13-all with 8:18 left in the stanza.From there, ASU would go on a 15-8 run in the
next five minutes to take a 28-21 advantage at the 3:20 mark on Brandon Peterson’s layup.Each team would register five points apiece
in the time remaining as the Red Wolves settled on a 33-26 lead going into the
half.

Emil
Jones’ 16 points was tops among four players in the double-figure scoring
column for Troy, which is now 8-12 overall and 3-6 in the conference.

Arkansas
State, which is 11-8 overall and 5-5 in the SBC’s West Division to date with
the disappointing loss, returns home this Saturday (Jan. 26) to face Florida
Atlantic in a Sun Belt Conference outing at the ASU Convocation Center in
Jonesboro, Ark.Opening tip versus the
Owls is slated for 7:30 p.m. (CT) in a game to be be televised live on both the
Sun Belt Network and ESPN 3.

Tickets
for the ASU-FAU matchup can be purchased by contacting the ASU Ticket Office at
(870) 972-2781 or 1-888-ASU-FANS.For
more information and the latest Red Wolves’ news, visit the official ASU
Athletics website at www.astateredwolves.com.